Category Archives: Occitanian Names

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I thought at the beginning of each month, I would post a list of names associated with the that particular month. Below is a list of names I have previously written about associated with January

Agnes: January 21st is the feast of St. Agnes and according to folklore, on January 20th, which John Keats’ was inspired to write a poem about, unmarried girls are supposed to see a future glimpse of their husband in their dreams the night before, provided they do not eat that day.

Frost: January is often associated with cold temperatures and frosty weather. Here are some name associated with frost

Sarma, Sarmite: These 2 Latvian lovelies come directly from the Latvian word for hoarfrost. The latter is pronounced sar-MEE-teh.

Kirsi: This Finnish female name is associated with the cherry fruit but also means “frost” in Finnish.

Other names that mean “frost” or words for frost from other languages include:

Likewise, Carnation is the birthflower, its Latin name is Dianthus, which was a name before it was a flower. Below is a list of words from other languages that mean “carnation” and would make awesome names. Also mixed in are some names with the meaning of “carnation” or just have carnation associations

From the name of a city mentioned in the Bible which is now located in Palestine. The meaning of the name is debated, some sources claim the name is from a Caananite word reah meaning “fragant” or the Canaanite word for moon (yareah), as the city was once the centre of worship for the Caananite moon-god Yarikh. Yarikh’s name also appears as Jarah, Jerah and Jorah. In modern times, the name is referred to as ʼArīḥā, in Arabic, meaning “fragrant.”

It’s use as a given name can possibly be traced to the 16th-century. Records indicate a scattering of Jereachs and Jerichs in England, and Jerigos in Germany is attested to many times, though I cannot tell if these are related to Jericho or if they are a form of George or Jeorg. Jericho definitely comes up in records by the 18th-century both in England and the United States.

The name first appeared in the U.S. top 1000 in 2013 and currently ranks in as the 932nd most popular male name.

A possible short form is Jerry.

The name appears in other languages in the following manner, though keep in mind that most of these are anecdotal.

The name comes from the Greek meaning “lyre.” It is the name of a constellation which was named for the lyre of Orpheus, which was said to quell the voices of sirens.

Lyra is also the name of a type of ancient Musical instrument.

The name first came into use in the English-speaking world in the 19th-century. It first appeared in the U.S. Top 1000’s Most Popular Female names in 2015. As of 2016, it was the 932nd most popular female name. It’s recent appearance may be influenced by Philip Pullman’s popular trilogy, His Dark Materials (1995), in which it is the name of one of the main characters, Lyra Belacqua.

The lovely Breton, Lourenn(loo-RENN) would also make a wonderful alternative.

Hercules is the Latin form of the Greek, Herakles. Herakles is composed of the Greek elements, Hera (as in the goddess) and cleos (κλεος) meaning, “glory; fame.”

The name was of course borne in Greek mythology by the divine hero, son of Zeus and Alcmene. In a rage of jealousy and to spite Zeus, Hera cursed Hercules into madness, driving him to kill his own children. In order to atone for his sins, Hercules performed twelve seemingly impossible feats, which he successfully accomplished thereafter becoming divine.

Hercules was a popular figure in Ancient Greece and later enjoyed popularity in the Roman Empire. His festival of Heraklea occurred between July and August. Thus the name may make an interesting choice for a child born during these months.

The name remained common even after the introduction of Christianity. It is especially common in Southeastern Europe and Greece.

Irakli, the Georgian form of the name, was borne by two Georgian Kings, the most notable being Irakli II (1720-1798).

As of 2011, Irakli was the 11th most popular male name in the Republic of Georgia.

In the English-speaking world, Hercules had some usage between the 16th and 19th-centuries. Notable bearers include:

Hercules Huncks (circ. 1600s) one of the Regicides of King Charles I of England.

She is sweet, fruity and portable, with the possible nickname options of the avant-garde Apple or the more subtle, Polly, who couldn’t resist this pearl?

Appollonia is a feminine form of the Greek male name, Appollonios πολλωνιος , which means “belonging to Apollo.” It was a very common name in Ancient Greece and is fairly common in modern Greece.

Its feminine form, however, was borne by a legendary saint. St. Appollonia was an early Christian Greek martyr. According to tradition, she was a deaconess and when she left her Church she was approached by a gang looking to kill Christians. Before being killed, she was tortured by either having her teeth pulled out one by one or more likely, she took such a hard blow to the face from her attackers that her teeth were knocked out. She has been revered as the patron saint of dentists and invoked against tooth ache by both the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches.

There is evidence to suggest that Appollonia, or at least a form of it, was used in England before the Protestant Reformation. The cult of the saint was fairly popular in Medieval England, and though I cannot conclude that they are related for sure, I have found records of the female name Apelyn as early as the 15th-century in England. Another form of Appelin appears a few times in the mid 19th-century U.S. census records. Both Apelyn or Appelin may make interesting yet legitimate trendy alternatives to Adelyn or any name currently popular name ending in -lyn.

Appollonia is a common enough name in Greece and Southern Italy, many of you may be familiar with the name via The Godfather in which it is the name of the ill-fated Sicilian first wife of Michael Corleone.

As of 2010, its French form of Apolline was the 98th most popular female name in France. Its Polish offshoot of Polaranked in as the 46th most popular female name in Poland in 2009. In this case, the name may be used in reference to its associations with the Polish noun, pole (field).

Another interesting Polish offshoot is Polonia, which is rare in Poland these days but might make an interesting choice for Polish-American parents who want to honour their heritage as polonia is a term used to describe the Polish diaspora in the United States. She may be the Polish-American answer to the Irish-American, Erin.

Then there is the lovely Czech variant of Apolena, which would make an interesting alternative to Elena or Magdalena.

The name is derived from the Greek Ανδρεασ (Andreas), which is derived from the Greek word, ανδροσ (andros), a genitive form of the word, ανηρ (aner), meaning, “man.” Hence, it would rougly translate to mean “belonging to man” or “of man.”

It was popularized by one of the twelve Apostles, who is now considered a popular Christian saint. It is suggested that Andreas was a nickname given to him, or possibly just a direct Greek translation of a Hebrew name that had a similar meaning, now lost to history.

Saint Andrew is considered the patron saint of Scotland, Russia, Greece and Romania. According to legend, he was martyred around the Black sea on an X shaped cross. His designated name-day is November 30.

The name has remained a staple in the U.S. top 100. As of 2011, he was the 16th most popular male name. His rankings and his various incarnations in other countries are as follows:

Note: Andrea is a common feminine form in most European countries outside of Italy and Albania, particularly in Germany and the Anglo-phone world. Whether this is a borrowing from the Italian and was changed, or a coincidental evolution, is unknown. What is known is that Andrea has been used in England as a feminine form since the 17th-century.

Today is St. Nicholas Day! So, I thought, what a perfect opportunity to blog about the name Nicholas and all his myriad variations.

This is an update of a post I wrote three years ago in December. I thought I would rerun it with some updates.

The name is derived from the Greek, Νικόλαος, (Nikolaos), which is composed of the Greek words νικη (níkē), meaning, “victory” and λαὸς (laos), meaning, “people.” λαὸς (laos) could also derive from the Greek root word, λας (-las) as in “λα-τομεῑο“, which means, “stone” “rock”, as in Greek mythology it was believed that all humans were formed from the stones that Deucalion and Pyrrah threw over their shoulders as they were running.

In the post-Christian world, the name Nicholas was popularized through the cult of St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra in Lycia, (the inspiration for the modern-day Santa Claus). He was known for his acts of charity toward the poor, the most popular story being that he saved a local poor man’s daughters from lives of prostitution by dropping gold nuggets down the man’s chimney so that the man could pay for his debts instead of selling his daughters.

St. Nicholas is a very popular saint in both the Eastern and Western Churches.

The name was introduced into England in the form of Nicholas, though the sans H version has also its share of usage in the Anglophone world. Nicholas first came into usage in England around the 12th-century and remained common even through the period of the Reformation. Currently, Nicholas is the 42nd most popular male name for boys in the United States, (2011). His rankings in all his various forms in other countries are as follows:

# 1 (Nika/Nikoloz(i), Georgia, 2011)

# 3 (Nikola, Macedonia, 2006)

# 3 (Nikola, Serbia, 2011)

# 5 (Nikolay, Bulgaria, 2009)

# 5 (Nikolaos, Greece, 2010)

# 6 (Nicolás, Argentina, 2009)

# 9 (Nicolás, Columbia, 2011)

# 9 (Nicolás, Mexico, 2011)

# 15 (Nicholas/Nick/Nicholai/Nicoló, Malta, 2011)

# 16 (Mikołaj, Poland, 2009)

# 22 (Nicolò, Italy, 2010)

# 22 (Nicolas, Spain, 2010)

# 24 (Niklas, Austria, 2010)

# 27 (Nikola, Croatia, 2009)

# 29 (Nicolas, Belgium, 2008)

# 31 (Nikolaj, Denmark, 2011)

# 36 (Australia, NSW, 2011)

# 36 (Canada, BC, 2010)

# 45 (Nikolai, Norway, 2011)

# 51 (Nicolas, Catalonia, 2010)

# 56 (Nicolas, Austria, 2010)

# 69 (Nicolas, France, 2010)

# 72 (Miklós, Hungary, 2011)

# 75 (New Zealand, 2010)

# 82 (Nikola, Slovenia, 2010)

# 93 (Niklas, Norway, 2011)

# 94 (Nikola, Bosnia & Herzegovina, 2010)

# 168 (Nicolas, United States, 2011)

# 181 (Scotland, 2010)

# 332 (Nicolaas, Netherlands, 2011)

# 451 (Nicolas, Netherlands, 2011)

# 473 (Nikolas, United States, 2011)

# 550 (Nickolas, United States, 2011)

# 639 (Nikolai, United States, 2011)

Other forms of the name include the following, (divided alphabetically by linguistic origin):

Latinate FormsVariations used in Latin languages

Micolau (Catalan)

Nicolau (Catalan/Galician/Occitanian/Portuguese)

Niculaiu (Corsican)

Nicoty (Brusseler: a French dialect)

Colin (French: originally a diminutive form, now used exclusively as an independent given name, not to be confused with the Celtic Colin/Collin which has a completely different etymology and pronunciation)

Claus/Claas/Klaas/Klaus/Klas (German: originally diminutive forms but have been used as independent given names for centuries)

Nickolaus/Nicolas/Nicolaus/ Niklaus/Nikolaus/Niklas (German)

Nico/Niko (German)

Neikaulaus (Gothic)

Néckel/Kleeschen/Klos (Lexumburgish)

Klaos (Limburgish)

Nikolaas/Nicolaas (Low Saxon)

Nicolai/Nikolai (Norwegian)

Niels (Norwegian)

Nickel (Plattdeutsch)

Michlaus (Swabian)

Niclas/Nicklas/Niklas (Swedish)

Nels/Nils (Swedish)

Klas/Claes (Swedish)

Chlaus/Glaus (Swiss-German)

Germanic feminine forms are:

Nikoline (Danish)

Klasina/Klazina (Dutch)

Nicole (Dutch/English/German: a borrowing from the French, very popular in the 1980s in German-speaking countries, English-speaking countries, as well as in the Netherlands and Scandinavia. In 1980, Nicole was the 7th most popular female name in the United States)

Nicolet (Dutch: a bastardization of the French, Nicolette)

Nicolien/Nicoline (Dutch)

Nicola/Nichola (English: a name that was particularly popular in Great Britain in the 70s and 80s, not to be confused with the masculine versions which are separate evolutions. This is pronounced NIK-uh-lah, and is most likely a feminization of the Scottish Nichol)

The name is a franconized form of the Occitanian word, estela, meaning, “star.”

The name was borne by a 3rd-century Christian saint and martyr, who sometimes appears in the records as Eustelle, little is known of her, but she was adopted by Occitanian poets as their patron and much was written of her.

Estelle and Estella seem to have appeared in the English-speaking world around the 19th-century, via the Charles Dickens’ novel, Great Expectations(1860), in which Estella is the name of a major character.

In 1911, Estelle was the 106th most popular female name in the United States. While Estella was the 106th most popular female name in 1883.

As of 2010, Estelle was the 185th most popular female name in France.

Other forms of the name include:

Estella (English/Hungarian)

Estelle (English/French/Swedish)

Esztella (Hungarian)

Estilla (Hungarian)

Estela (Occitanian/Portuguese/Spanish)

The name is borne by British RnB singer, Estelle (b.1980). The crown princess Victoria of Sweden recently chose this name for her daughter in February of 2012.

The name is a franconization of the Occitanian male name, Titoan, which is the Occitanian form of Anthony. Though it is a legitimate name with much history, especially in the regions within the Langue D’Oc, the name was not allowed official usage in France until 1987. The recent outburst in popularity may have something to do with Titouan Lamazou (b.1955) a famous contemporary French artist, sailor and children’s rights activist. In his case, Titouan is a nickname for Antoine, in his case, his Moroccan nanny had a difficult time pronouncing his name, giving him, instead the name of a Berber town which sounded similar to Antoine, Tétouan, which comes from the Berber, Titwan, meaning, “the eyes.” There is a district in Madrid that was named in reference to the town, Tétuan.

Titouan‘s popularity is also probably a mix of the recent interest and revival of regional cultures in France: that of the Basque, Breton, Alsatian and Occitanian. This and several other Breton and Occitanian names appear in the French top 500.

As of 2010, Titouan was the 51st most popular male name in France.

An Occitanian feminine for is Titoana, and obscure French feminine form is Titouane.

It is primarily used in honour of Al-Walid I (668 – 715) and Ummayid Caliph who had ruled in the early 700s. He is known for instituting Arabic as the official language across the Islamic World and his conquer of Spain.